


Avenging Phantom

by CalmIsOverrated



Category: Danny Phantom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt!Danny Fenton, Implied/Referenced Torture, Poor Danny, Slowburn Found Family, Tony adopts anyone, he's like the marvel batman istg, no beta we die like men, only cannon ships here boys sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23117815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalmIsOverrated/pseuds/CalmIsOverrated
Summary: An entire town was destroyed in what was nicknamed the Amity Park disaster. In the aftermath an orphan with supernatural powers was taken by a Hydra spin-off called the GIW for revolutionary research. Until now.Or, until the Avengers stumbled upon something that will have extreme consequences and may result in them taking in a young teenager.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Tony Stark, Ember McLain & Danny Fenton, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 25
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you happen to be from Fanfiction.net or Wattpad yes, it’s me. Hallo.
> 
> My Tumblr is Calm-is-overrated. Feel free to chat with me.
> 
> This is one of the first fanfics I started. Ongoing since 2018. I plan to hopefully finish it in 2020 but let’s see if I die first at this point. But remember that my writing style has kinda changed.

Nick Fury had almost been there when it happened. He'd been coming down to meet his three year-old niece, Valerie, for her birthday. He was about a quarter mile away when the explosion happened. The shockwave that followed made his car swerve into the rails.

To think, if he hadn't stopped to get gas, his tire wouldn't have popped, he wouldn't have been late, he would be dead.

He backed up as soon as it passed and began speeding, ignoring every possible law, towards the town of Amity. He did not have the capability to care. He knew what he would find, but it didn't stop him.

He passed the sign 'Amity Park! Safest place in the world!' And as he did nearly the force of him driving past made it fall off. Out of town EMS' were speeding behind him. As he entered the town he was not liking what he saw.

Nick got out of his car while covering his nose. Many buildings were on fire, car alarms and screams were coming from every direction. There was a burning smell, flesh and wood permeated the air and Nick coughed. He kept walking though watching as the buildings became progressively worse.

He finally stopped. A building, looking worse than the rest of the town. Probably the center of the explosion. Buildings in ruins and that was when he spotted it. A flash of white vans and there was a bright green liquid in a puddle on the floor. He saw a piece of a sign, which the house must of had hanging on it. The only letter that wasn't burned beyond recognition was an 'F'.

Nick would investigate this later, he needed to check on his niece who was thankfully not on this side of town. He rushed back to his car in favor of hurrying and getting some of his family to safety.

* * *

Vlad Masters wasn't in Amity when it happened. He was in New York in a business meeting with Tony Stark, a man who had managed to redeem himself. When Vlad had heard Tony had quit selling weapons it made him stop and think. He decided the best thing for him was to move on from his grudge against Jack. When he looked past his anger he realized he had family with the Fentons. He was a godfather and had long since sworn to protect them. So he stayed in Amity as much as possible and he even became it's mayor- not due to his powers.

He was about to bring up the deal between the two companies for the clean reusable energy inside Ectoplasm when his assistant, a young girl with blonde hair and green eyes named Felicity, came in with a worried look on her face. Vlad stopped talking, Tony didn't notice, as she approached with a phone in hand.

"Hello?" He asked in his business no nonsense tone that made most shake in their boots.

"Yes, is this Vladimir Master?" The voice, a woman in her late twenties to early thirties said. She sounded unsteady and was taking short breaths like she'd been physically exerting herself.

"Indeed," Vlad confirmed.

"This Alicia Akers captain of the fire department, there's been an incident involving Amity Park."

"What kind of incident?" At that even Stark had fallen uncharacteristically silent. He exchanged wide-eyed glances with a red haired woman and an African-American man.

"Sir, there was an explosion. It took out a major portion of the town and we believe Fenton Works was the center if not cause for it," the woman explained.

"S-survivors?" Vlad stuttered knowing he wouldn't like the answer. Pure logic gave him his answer. He was beginning to feel lightheaded from shock.

"Not many within the middle radius of the blast sir, we need you to come back and deal with the government since you're the mayor," she said, there was shouting behind her. "They won't let us continue looking for survivors without speaking with someone in charge." Vlad assumed she was being called back and didn't have much more time. Vlad nodded though the woman on the phone couldn't see it. If the government was there and the explosion happened at Fenton Works it was the GIW. With what Aleks had said it probably make their charts spike. He didn't need them poking around in his other half's business.

He took a deep breath and stood. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

He left and may have been guilty of using his paranormal strength to speed up his escape the questioning stares. His whole family was gone, he could worry later.

* * *

_One Decade Later_

"Get up, ectoplasmic scum," an agent in, you guessed it, white said harshly while digging into DP23's back with the ecto gun. DP23 looked around, he was on the floor? Did he collapse again? They didn't like it when he tripped, fell, fainted, walked, talked, or... If he did anything they didn't tell him too. When he made mistakes it caused him pain.

He hurriedly scrambled to his feet as well as he could with the heavy chains digging into his arms and legs. DP23 was panting heavily exhaustion by the time he managed to get upright. His body didn't want to cooperate today and was only running by sheer will to not feel pain alone.

The agent pushed him forwards roughly and he nearly toppled to the ground. Instead DP23 righted himself and prepared for whatever experiment they had planned for today.

He caught a glimpse of the man's watch. It doesn't matter, he thought allowing a phantom of a smile on his face hair falling over his eyes as he kept his head down, I won't have to be here much longer.

He was then led into the sterile white room with the shiny and sharp tools. The door electrically closed shut leaving DP23 trapped inside. They better hurry, DP23 thought. Moments later he heard a CRASH as the front door and their security was destroyed. Right on... He glanced at the watch on a panicking agent's wrist. Time.  
  


* * *

_One Week Earlier_

DP23 didn't believe it when he heard it. He'd been told stories by the other ghosts of a place called the Ghost Zone. And they said there was one ghost who was more powerful than any other ghost. He wasn't allowed to intervene unless it was against the rules. He was called Clockwork.

He couldn't directly intervene unless he got actual permission from creatures called Observers. He didn't believe it. But just in case, DP23 made the mental note to never meet them if they were real.

When they brought in the new prisoner he was thrown into DP23's cell. DP23 didn't think the man was a ghost for very long when they'd managed to capture him. He was babbling about something going on in New York which is where he guessed this place was, given that DP23 had been moved so many times he didn't know where he started out. There was a place called SHIELD, and an experiment.

DP23 didn't know what the man was babbling about that but something caught his attention. "The GIW was getting investigated before I was killed. Director Fury said he was sending the Avengers in a week." The man kept babbling before the agents came. One, agent P, slammed his fist into the door shutting the man up.

"Up, scum," he commanded.

"This is illegal. We are sentient bei- gerg!" The man was cut off as electricity arched through his body and he collapsed. Agent P motioned for the others to grab him. DP23 scooted to the back of the cell, eyes wide in horror.

As they left one of the men paused and let a corrupted smirk take over his face before he yelled out, "You're all next, scum." DP23 saw some of the ghosts shrink backwards. He never saw that poor spirit again, his afterlife was, undoubtedly, cut very short.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah~ This is up to chap 7 on fanfiction.net. I’m gonna add some more real quick- My old writing is both very cringy and better than the stuff I write now.

It was a tip. Nothing more nothing less. But it was what it contained was enough it made Tony force the Avengers to get into the quinjet fully suited at three in the morning.   
  
Halfway through the ride he decided to tell the others. He knew them well enough to know they were steaming mad but hid it under a cool mask of determination. He also knew that Natasha and Bucky were furious and he hoped no one would be dumb enough to get in their ways.

* * *

Tony Stark hadn't slept, not an uncommon thing but he hadn't been able to. A few various team members had stopped by his labs looking disapproving- not that he cared- and telling to go to bed. But he couldn't. It was just, something bad was going to happen and he didn't know what. So he'd gone to his kitchen to grab a glass of water. As much as he hated the sleeping pills he'd been prescribed constantly they sometimes did their job.  


  
The envelope was sitting on his kitchen table looking innocent enough. It was addressed to him, Anthony Stark, by a 'CW'. As far as he knew he didn't know anyone by the name of CW, whatever that stood for.   
  
He opened it and it contained a hard-drive and a piece of paper.   
  
"FRI, what is this?"   
  
"It appears to be an encrypted hard-drive that is compliant with our systems," the AI responded with a curious tone.   
  
"How did it get here?" Tony asked. If this was a prank he was going to throw Clint in syrup and feather him.   
  
"I am unaware. It appeared moments after you turned around to grab your glass," FRIDAY responded. Ah, so not Clint. He might just feather the prankster either way but not for this.   
  
With sleep long forgotten, Tony marched to the lab with the hard-drive in hand. When he got there he plugged it in opened the file. Quickly hacking in and entering the files.   
  
There was a video. "Ooh! Now what's this?"   
  
"Sir, I believe thi-"   
  
"Mute," Tony said then pressed play. He wished he hadn't.   
  
It started in an empty lab. The time in the corner of the screen showed it happened sometime within a month. The door opened and a man was brought in with large metal cuffs on his wrists. The larger figures were in pure white HAZMAT suits. The thing that surprised him was that the man was... Floating, and in a black suit that had a silver eagle on the shoulder. SHIELD.   
  
"FRIDAY, unmute, pause, and run facial recognition," Tony said.   
  
"Yes sir," she said, then several images appeared. "Joey Rodriguez, 25, worked for SHIELD. killed by a car thief two months ago, one that also managed to kill Ben Parker. His killer was caught by the vigilante, Spider-man."   
  
"Hey FRI, remind me to look more into this Spider-guy later. But Joey is dead. How can he be there? Wait, run facial recognition on the guy holding him."   
  
"Victor Ebott, he works for an organisation called Ghost Investigation Ward, or GIW which has had several mysterious fundings from outside sources. He was under investigation for involvement with HYDRA."   
  
Tony frowned. "Continue video."   
  
They dragged Joey forwards tying him down with a strange green metal. What exactly was going on here?   
  
"Figure out where exactly they work, watch them through street lights or track their phones. I don't care," Tony instructed as he continued watching.   
  
Then they started grabbing surgical equipment and Tony paled. "Fast forwards the gore please." Tony did not feel like watching that. The screen turned into a blur as it did, the billionaire catching sight of an alarming amount of green.   
  
"Sir, I believe that is the last of the video, but I did find something interesting."   
  
"What is it?"   
  
The screen stopped. Now that it did Tony realized the green he'd seen was... Blood. Joey was hardly recognizable, his entire torso mangled, his face was a giant green bruise, various cuts across his body bled profusely. The agents were talking in hushed tones.   
  
"Turn on enhanced audio," Tony said as he struggled to make out any words.   
  
"Its form is destabilizing, the scum won't last much longer," said the one he recognized as Victor. Who also seemed to be in charge of their torture. Tony felt a bubble of rage at the words 'it' and 'scum'.   
  
"Don' matta," one said with a thick Boston accent. "We're clearin' this place out quick. Boss wants us ta destroy all experiments and pack our bags and get back to Louisiana."   
  
But, true to Victor's words though, and Tony's horror, Joey began to melt. His literal form falling apart and collapsing in on himself. Then he was gone, a simple puddle of the green blood left in his place. One of the scientists moved forwards to clean up the mess with practiced ease. "Bring in the next one."   
  
"Turn on the Avengers alarm and tell them to meet me in the quinjet," then the man called his Iron Man armor.

* * *

The next crash rocked the building then he heard a roar. One of the agents started backing away in shock and DP23 used his leg to trip the man. The other agents turned their guns to him and he easily maneuvered around their blasts taking them both out in seconds. He took the keys off of one of the fallen and managed to unlock the cuffs. They fell to the ground with a BANG that echoed in the room.  


  
DP23 walked forwards and turned his hand intangible and tried to put his hand through the wall. His hand hit solid wall. Ghost proof walls. DP23 spouted off several curses he'd learned from the agents. His mouth moved mutely to each syllable.   
  
He needed to help the others, and they didn't have long. He unlocked the door thanks to the keyring he cradled in his hand and rushed into the hallways. Carefully aimed ectoblasts that took care of any agents that came across his path. He was racing towards the control room, where that was supposed to be, the teen had no clue.   
  
DP23 was having a lucky day at this point when he stumbled into the room. Another quake struck the building, he reached out to steady himself against the wall. When the shudders ceased he pushed off and glued the door shut with sticky, but also strong ectoplasm. By the time he reached the cage panels he was panting hard. He wasn't used to much physical exertion being stuck in a cage all day is what he would much rather have than being on a dissection table. As they tore him apart to see how he worked and wh- Stop. Focus on the task at hand, he reminded himself.   
  
He knocked out the three guards by freezing their feet and knocking them down and out in fluid movements. Honestly, if a malnourished, somewhat-dead teenager could take them down what hope did they have against whoever these invaders were?   
  
He glanced at the video cameras and did a double take. A man in patriotic clothing was punching the Goons In White. There was a large green brute taking agents out by the dozens, their blasters doing nothing against the apparently impenetrable skin. The most noticeable one, at least to DP23, was a robot of red and gold armor. It reminded him of Skulker who hated DP23 and tried to hurt him most of the time.   
  
He shook it off and continued his mission and started hitting random buttons until he heard an alarm going off and the simultaneous cheering which had an otherworldly tint to it. He'd released the other ghosts. Now they just needed to go.   
  
He heard banging against the door as they struggled to get it opened. DP23 just hoped it held until the others escaped. He knows they told him to run as soon as possible and he couldn't just let some be captured again. Clockwork had provided a distraction and DP23 was going to use it to get everyone out... Even if he didn't exactly count in 'everyone'.   
  
Then there was another noise, a whining, like a weapon charging up. DP23 covered his sensitive ears, turned invisible, tucked himself into the corner behind one of the large monitors. The teen hated the otherworldly glow he gave off, making it very hard to hide. He couldn't transform into his lesser form... Yet.   
  
Then there was the blast, DP23 half expected the door to be blown off and agents to swarm him. Instead he heard screaming... GIW's agents screaming to be exact.   
  
Then the door was kicked in. That itself startled DP23 he lost his invisibility and settled for hiding. He was vaguely aware of how loud his core was pulsing in time with his human part's heart. Speaking of which his form was beginning to glitch between human and ghost given that he'd used most of his energy already. The ring appeared and he started panicking but there was nothing he could do as the light split with a flash leaving him in his human form.   
  
The teen gasped out as the pain from his previous injuries came back as the adrenaline faded almost instantly and he collapsed against the wall. Exhausted and unable to do much more.   
  
He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes closed as tight as possible. He was stuck in his lesser form and could be killed. He hoped whoever it was would make it quick.

* * *

Tony was heading towards the control room when Hulk was released. Bruce had been flashing green on and off the entire ride there, so the billionaire wasn't too surprised when he felt the first tremors through the building. Tony just hoped he could get through the building without anything coming down on his head.  


  
He had almost reached the control room when an otherworldly cheer rose through the building. The agents turned their attention from the Avengers to the ghosts. Tony watched as a group broke off and raced down one of the many hallways.   
  
Where are you going? Tony wondered and followed, turning his suit to stealth. And followed them.   
  
He finally reached a cluster of agents, about ten altogether, trying to break down a door. There was that green blood covering the door, except this was different. It looked almost solid, like... It was being used to keep the door closed.   
  
Tony charged up his blasters and fired at the agents. They all went down with only screams. Those that survived the wrath of the others would face a trial for illegal experimentation on sentient beings. Iron man punched the door. It caved inwards and fell.   
  
As he walked in he could hear panicked breathing and looked around for a source. He was about to ask FRIDAY when there was a bright flash and a whimper of pain.   
  
He slowly walked over and saw something- someone unusual.   
  
The kid looked maybe 12 or 13, and that was pushing it due to his 4'11" height and the fact he was stick thin. His raven black hair was stiffly plastered to his face. It was crusted with debris and his red-green blood. There was a trail going down the side of his face from a gash on the side of his head where he'd been hit by something. The green leaving Tony to believe he wasn't human. The HAZMAT suit he was wearing appeared to be mending itself but it was ripped in several places.   
  
The teen's blue eyes flashed toxic green in warning as his head shot up to stare at Tony. He looked completely defenseless but then Tony caught sight of the unconscious agents that had been in the room with the kid. Then he looked at the teen at a different angle. He was like a cornered, and injured, animal. Ready to lash out at a moments notice. This could be a dangerous situation for both of them if he wasn't careful. He was also cradling his left arm which looked sickeningly crooked.

* * *

  
"Hey kiddo," The metal man said and DP23 involuntarily scoot further back against the wall as if he could go through it. DP23 looked at the metal mask and saw danger, then the mask opened and he saw a human. One who's eyes had definitely seen more than any human should, was behind the machine. He stared for a couple minutes and then the man offered his hand to help him up.   
  
"C'mon kid, let's get you out of here," the man said softly in a gentle tone he obviously rarely used and would probably later deny using. DP23 paused for a solid minute. He could get out of here, away from these strange people if he pushed himself. But he was hurt and he didn't have anywhere else to go. He hadn't thought further than simply freeing the other ghosts.   
  
So the young halfa made up his mind. And darted to the side, racing for the door. The metal man grabbed fot him but DP23 willed himself intangible making the man's hand glide right through him.   
  
He raced out into the halls, and followed Ember and YoungBlood. He could escape. From the GIW and the metal man.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> qvq

Tony had had many things slip through his fingers. Friendships, relationships, and sometimes his sanity. But he could not come up with a logical reason the kid had gone through his hands. It didn't make sense! Unfortunately according to what Natasha had recovered they weren't dealing with something that followed logic.   
  
Now they were back in the warm penthouse of the Avengers Tower while flurries of snow drifted down to ground outside their windows. They had all gathered in the kitchen, eating. Tony was uncharacteristically silent as he flipped through the holographic images. It unnerved the others because he was only silent when he was brainstorming. When he brainstormed it usually ended up with something being blown up or the world saved. They never knew.   
  
The only reason he hadn't left the table was because he and Natasha too busily going through one of the hard drives they'd recovered. Tony was searching for the child who'd slipped through his fingers, Natasha was looking for the mystery of the twice deceased SHIELD agent.   
  
"Stop," Tony commanded, then he zoomed in on two different, inverted pictures of the same child. It was obviously not taken long ago. There was a dark bruise decorating the child's jaw, identical to the lighter one he'd seen hours prior. Tony remembered the haunted (no pun intended) look in his eyes right before he darted away like his life depended on it.   
  
"Danny Fenton," Clint read, peeping over Natasha's shoulder. "The perfect half ghost hybrid. With two different but similar forms. His DNA is balanced between human and the substance ec-ecto-ectoplasm? What's that?" The blonde turned to face both stormy faced scientists. One was skimming over all the horrid 'experiments' they'd done to Danny in both forms. The other reading through the charts the GIW had made.   
  
"It appears to be sentient and malleable... Goop. From the readings I've seen it gives off so much radiation that a small vial could power a city for decades, but it doesn't have any negative effect on humans," Bruce said adjusting the glasses and sweeping back his light brown hair. He showed them the charts, knowing full and well it made no sense to the others except Tony.   
  
"Think we could scan for it?" Tony asked. If the teenager- Danny had the radiation in him they could find him.   
  
"I think I could get something that would work... It might take a bit though," he said.   
  
Wonder if Ultron would ever be able to scan for it, the man thought even though the robot wasn't yet up and running. I should add that feature. "Let's find out about our little friend. JARVIS, give us all we've got on one Danny Fenton."   
  
"Right away, sir," the AI's said with his british accent.   
  
A few reports showed up most showing three words in large letters. Tony blinked. "The Amity disaster?"   
  
"Yes, it appears Mr. Fenton is shown to be deceased along with the rest of his family."   
  
"That happened ten years ago right? ("Yes, sir.") So then he was three when he was taken..." Tony didn't know whether he should be relieved that the child didn't remember his old life and what he lost or saddened. His emotions were mostly well concealed anger. Anger pointed towards the GIW. The whole team seemed to share this feeling as well.   
  
"How did it happen, JAR?"   
  
"The explosion originated from the home of the country's leading paranormal scientists, the Fentons. None of the home was salvageable but it was theorized that they were building a portal to another dimension and something malfunctioned," the AI explained, then pulled up a slideshow of pictures.   
  
Tony blinked, once again shocked. Twice in one day, a new record, he thought. Then the man stood and left the room.   
  
"Where you going?" Steve called after him, concerned, tearing his eyes away from the destruction on the screen.   
  
"Patrol," was all that was said without so much as a backwards glance. They heard the elevator shut and shared glances were exchanged.   
  
Until Clint tilted his head and spoke first. "Since when does he go on patrol?"   
  
"Since he needs to clear his head," Natasha said, deadpan. "Or to do something stupid."

* * *

DP23 could stand the cold, in fact it had always just felt good to him. The way the frozen water lightly landed on his hair, identical in color, calmed him and reminded him of a nagging memory- more like feeling- that he couldn't shake. The thing he did know was that he was truly in his element in the cold. He found himself enraptured by the steam that fell from the New Yorker's mouths as they shuffled along. Not even once glancing down the alleyway the three hid, dunked behind a smelly dumpster.   
  
Ember and Youngblood however, were not as lucky in their immunity to the cold. In fact both were shivering lightly as DP23 tried to figure out some sort of plan but their situation was beginning to feel hopeless.   
  
"Hey Dipstick," Ember coughed, that's not good, while waving her hand in front of DP23's face which was starting to look troubled. "We need to find a portal back."   
  
"Portal?" DP23 croaked. They had, not long ago in fact, poured liquid Blood blossom down the teen's throat as an 'experiment'. He hadn't been able to fully recover from the injuries since the Agents issued them as often as he received it.   
  
"Youngblood, are there any portals nearby?" Ember asked, with a concerned glance to DP23. She'd been there since he was captured and had practically raised him.   
  
The young pirate ghost shook his head sadly. "I don't sense any," he whispered. The smaller ghost usually could sense the portals with the help of his familiar and adviser who'd unfortunately been destroyed. Torn apart molecule by molecule by the GIW. Unfortunately the smallest couldn't locate natural portals long range without it.   
  
DP23 had long since started pacing while watching his two companions shiver, being able to do nothing but stay away. The white haired ghost emitted the cold, not what his friends needed.   
  
Ember stood, and walked to the nearest metal can, rubbing her arms. She tore off the lid and looked inside.   
  
"I don't think we need to dumpster dive just yet," Youngblood said, struggling to his feet. His flight was gone, also not good. If they didn't find someway to get warm, DP23 could lose his only two friends.   
  
"Shuddup pipsqueak, I got an idea," she said, her hands flickering with weak blue flames. She shot them into the garbage can, catching fire to it's contents. With a sigh of relief the two moved closer and DP23 stayed away.   
  
"We need to find a way back," Ember said suddenly.   
  
"No duh," Youngblood said leaning against the can.   
  
"We need to make a portal," Ember spared a glance to the green eyed teenager that was staring into the crowd.?   
  
DP23 paused. "A portal?" He hoarsely asked, his voice not loud enough to be heard outside the alley.   
  
Ember nodded then a faraway look took over her face. "One time a family made a portal. All of the ghosts were elated to finally see the material dimension many of us came from after so long. Before that we'd have to wait for a natural portal which was a rip in time and space allowing us access. And those were... Unpredictable. You never knew where you'd end up."   
  
The rocker ghost's became somber. "They were so excited they rushed through the portal. Overpowering it through sheer number and ecto-contamination. The scientist's ecto-filter just wasn't built to handle the opening feedback... They didn't see it coming." She put her face in her hands as tears started forming in her eyes. DP23 came forwards and put a hand on her arm in a gesture saying 'you don't have to tell me'. She sniffed and her face grew hard again. "I'm fine dipstick."   
  
The rocker took a deep breath and continued. "When all the ghosts rushed through, it fed portal energy and it did something no one expected... Again. It became bigger until it took up the scientist's entire basement. They knew they could stop it but it would come at a price. When they," she hid a wet cough, "managed to make it shrink it basically fried every ghost who was in between the portal at that moment. And since ecto-energy is particularly explosive..." She trailed off and DP23's eyes grew huge. "Those that had managed to escape the portal were injured in the blast... The GIW managed to find us."   
  
"Then why would we want to make another one?" He asked, mind swirling with newfound anxiety over the possibilities of things that could go wrong.   
  
"We have to go home DP. We, unlike you, can't be away from the ghost-zone or ectoplasm for long," Youngblood grumped.   
  
DP23 frowned. "How are we going to make one?"   
  
"Easy, there's only one place in New York, which is where we are, with enough technology and equipment to create one..."   
  
DP23 didn't know what was going on but apparently Youngblood did as his eyes grew comically. "Do we have to?" Youngblood wined. "The old man never shut up about how smart his kid was." The child pirate turned to a mocking voice,"'I remember his first robot, he named it DUM E.' 'The first time he tried to make the Iron Man armor was when he was seven.' Almost glad he got his yap got fried."   
  
The rocker ghost smacked the pirate upside the head. "It's our only choice at this point. When I was alive and before we were captured Stark industries was the leading innovator in technology," Ember said with a disapproving look at the younger ghost's whining.   
  
She liked this no more than the other two boys but they had no other choice. If they wanted to get home and to the relative safety of the Ghost-zone they needed a portal. And if they needed a portal they needed supplies and there was only one place they could get it.   
  
"I'll call the others," Youngblood sighed, taking off. His strength was returning slowly thanks to the fire's warmth. "They probably haven't had much more luck finding a natural than us. Won't last long here, not enough ecto energy in the air to sustain us."   
  
Ember- who also seemed to be the leader- simply shook her head and motioned for Youngblood to go. DP23 cleared his throat, wincing only slightly. "We'll need to find somewhere with enough energy to punch the open the portal. Ember, can you find a powerhouse powerful enough to do it? I'll go get some supplies for us and find a place to stay until we can get off this Earth."   
  
The two nodded and took off. After they left DP23 took a deep breath and nudged the warmth near his core. It spurred and lazily grew until the once familiar ring appeared around his waist. It divided and went in opposite directions, turning him into his weaker human form. He had raven black hair and baby blue eyes. His ghost form was also tanner than his human.   
  
But otherwise DP23 looked like a very skinny but otherwise normal teenager on the outside. But if you looked closely you'd see purple bruises peeking down from his hairline near his left ear. He walked with a concealed limp, his leg had long since been shattered and healed wrong. But most of all his eyes, the baby blues took in everything around him. Some would call it observant but it was in fact suspicion. Evident of someone who'd been broken inside multiple times before.   
  
DP23 peered around the corner at the coming mob of people, bundled in sweaters and jackets. He faltered right before he tried to jump into the crowd. Every sense in his body was telling him to run for the hills... Or anywhere besides the sidewalk.   
  
But then he steeled himself- remembering that this is for his friends- and cautiously stepped out from the alley and dove into the crowd. Blending seamlessly with the steady thrum of people as the sun began to rise. Shining a hazy light on the sleep deprived city.

* * *

DP23 didn't like doing what he was doing- the word: stealing popped into his head. He knew they, or at least he needed, food and shelter. They had no supplies and no way to get to their home. So after swiping a pretzel from a vendor, he was looking for a place to hole up in until they could get back to the Ghost World.  


  
The rushing streets terrified him, people bumping past and into him in a hurry, looking down at their glowing devices. The constant noise was deafening, honking, talking, yelling, slamming, loud. Too loud. He took a deep breath of the chilly winter air when he realized they were becoming shallow and harsh. The cold calmed him down enough to regain control.   
  
DP23's nimble fingers continuously worried the bottom of his filthy sweater as he did his best to avoid being bumped by the much taller people, weaving and dodging as many as he could. He kept an eye out for any abandoned buildings to help shelter him and his friends, but found none so far. It seemed that wherever he was that people were packed into every corner possible. It was suffocating to him. Why would anyone purposely want to live here? Maybe they didn't have a choice...   
  
The halfa narrowed his eyes and turned down an empty alleyway, which he followed. He took a few more turns and it eventually led him to a few blocks of neighborhood that looked like it would be less than safe for him if he was a normal human.   
  
As it was he kept his distance, cautiously staking out the perimeter from the shadows. The outside wasn't awfully crowded outside but there was a lot of life forces in the area. He guessed they were still inside their houses. He saw a few vacant buildings that no one would notice if the escapees occupied them for the time being. He took note of the numbers on their front, they seemed important enough.   
  
Suddenly he was aware of a presence following him and his slow heart rate quickened as adrenaline entered his veins. Whoever it was was extremely sloppy in their stalking techniques. Their breath was wheezing loud enough he didn't have to strain to hear. The smell of liquor and smoke in the air was enough to make DP23 gag. Not GIW, he reminded himself, they may have been anal about their suits, but they were trained.   
  
As they approached DP23 he tensed ready to fight off whoever it was. Like when he was paired against another ghost, ectoguns pointed at his back, guarding off all escape... Except that wasn't here for the time being.   
  
He let his attacker grab his arm and push him against the brick wall.   
  
Pain flared up his spine and he winced, he couldn't remember exactly what experiment had caused it. Probably a spinal-tap of some kind, there were so many he never bother counting.   
  
He just about allowed himself to blast the man into his next life for touching him and make a run for it, but he didn't. He couldn't. If that happened, it would just be drawing unnecessary attention to himself and the others, the logical part of his brain reminded. He reigned in those instincts and acted alone, he was uncomfortable with this man being this close but he was far from scared. A glance at the swaying mugger concluded he only had a rusted- or at least he hoped it was just rust- knife as his weapon.   
  
"Hey," a loud and very familiar, metallic voice started, both turned to see the metal man- from the facility- land less than ten feet away. "Leave the kid alone."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m jealous of a fifteen year old’s writing skills~

It was a shocked silence following the sound of metal boots hitting concrete. Both the mugger and halfa were watching in terror. DP23 was paralyzed, his body refused to respond to his commands to runrunrunrun. He didn't think he could get away if he tried. The mugger had no such qualms and took off faster than DP23 even expected. Leaving behind the smell of alcohol in his wake.   
  
DP23 was unsure how to feel about that reaction. Whoever this Metal Man was, he was dangerous. And he managed to find him. Every sense of reason in his body screamed danger. He was about to follow the mugger's example when the man spoke.   
  
"Yeesh, tough crowd, huh," he mused, and his faceplate flipped upwards. His tone and expression indicated humor but he was studying DP23 with such intensity he squirmed uncomfortably but said nothing. The look had his feet glued to the floor.   
  
The man didn't seem concerned by the lack of response from the teen because he went to his next speech. The man seemed perfectly able to carry their conversation on his own.   
  
The teen contemplated turning invisible and taking off when the man said something of interest. "I wouldn't bother running, unless you can figure out how to mask your ecto-signature," he stated. DP23's head tilted to the side in false confusion, hoping to play off as a dumb teenager who was definitely not a ghost... Or even half of one   
  
"I can track you and every other ghost that was in the GIW system, thanks to the samples we collected- stole," he elaborated.   
  
The teen's eyes went comically huge, it may have been funny in any other situation. He backed up against the wall he was just pressed against. This time he seemed to be trying to become one with the wall and not be noticed. He felt exposed out here in the open, like every detail of him was under a microscope.   
  
"- So anyway, why don't you come with me and figure this all out, okay?" He had lowered his volume and was watching the teen carefully, tensed as he expected the boy to make a run for it.   
  
Then DP23 met the man's eyes for the first time, before they darted away and he shook his head mutely.   
  
Still not talking huh, Tony thought. "Well, since you obviously don't know who I am, I'm Iron Man. I'm one of the good guys." He held out his hand to see if the teen would get close enough.

* * *

An eight year-old DP23 was walking in front of two GIW agents, both were silent as if walking him to him impending doom. Which, for all knew could be accurate, there were days he thought he'd die. Like the first time they removed a few of his organs in his ghost form so they could watch in fascination they began growing back. It is one of the few times they used the drugs on him, the ones that made everything hazy and weak. But it was still one of the most painful things he'd felt so far. He was afraid of the day having his organs removed would be like having a blood draw.   
  
But there was nothing he could do. He couldn't escape yet, though there were rumors it'd happen someday. He just didn't know if he'd still be alive to see it. So he walked silently, until he yelped out as he was shoved down from behind with the barrel of an ecto-gun.   
  
"Get up, scum," the agent scoffed. "Useless little monster. Thinks it'll get pity." Today was a lab day, which happened randomly but he could tell by which way they were walking, according to the smug looks it was going to be bad. The man slammed his boot near the child's fingers and he immediately pulled them to his chest as if burned. They laughed and told him to move as soon as he'd struggled to his feet.   
  
Agent K cuffed the side of DP23's head and the child immediately bent his head as they walked. They arrived at  _ that _ room, the one that haunted his nightmares. Unknowing that in a few years later he'd escape from that room and run.   
  
They unlocked the door DP23 unable to make out the complex passwords. Then Agent O pushed him inside the room where a table took of the middle. Various trays were scattered around and sharp tools gleamed in the fluorescent lights. The walls were all, of course, white which made everything much brighter than it needed to be. A woman with who was cleaning a surgical scalpel looked up at them.   
  
"Set up the specimen," she said monotone.   
  
"Yes Agent B," they replied and DP23 didn't struggle as they strapped in his arms and legs, at least anymore. That usually resulted in more pain than necessary. At least after this they'd leave him alone for a few hours, or even a day! Maybe they'll feed him.   
  
Agent B gave them a short nod of dismissal and they left, shutting the heavy ectoranium doors behind them.   
  
Danny didn't struggle but he kept a constant loop of what the others had told him. They'd get out someday. This 'CW' would get them out. He just had to hang in there...   
  
Agent B smirked, knowingly at its masked expression, but she could see it in his eyes. She'd also seen it on countless others before she tore them apart. The look of hope.   
  
"Ya see scum, no one will ever rescue you or the others because you're all bad. Monster," she spat.   
  
"No 'hero' would tarnish their records to try and save scum like you. Face it, we're the good guys here for wiping your kind from every Universe." With a final growl she picked up the scalpel and the pain began.

* * *

DP23 stared down, his ratty black hair covering most of his face and Tony could see his expression. Probably the point. He didn't make any indication he'd heard what Tony said, so the man came closer.   
  
DP23 started out of his memories and tried to retreat but his back slammed, none too gently, into the brick wall. Tony stopped moving but he was still too close for comfort. DP23's breath was ragged as he stared at the man with wide eyes. Tony noticed the dark, bruise-like circles underneath the suspicious blue eyes that never left him, watching and looking for a way out. It made him want to wrap this kid in blankets, safe and away, until Tony could make all of this go away.   
  
But right now he resembled a dangerous, very scared, cornered animal.   
  
"Danny-" he started but DP23 swayed and forced himself to transform. Tony was surprised at that. Surprised that Danny even had enough energy to transform, he looked like he was dead on his feet. Danny seemed just as shocked as he looked down at his hands and watched the ethereal glow that lit up the alley.   
  
In a split second decision Tony grabbed on small wrists in his hands instantly snapping him out of his daze. He was so surprised he didn't even think to try and turn intangible and truthful he probably didn't have the energy to get far. He yelped again as Tony pulled him into a restraining hold.   
  
"LET ME GO!" Danny yelled, his voice cracking from disuse and damage and Tony felt his heart ache.   
  
"Just calm down kid," Metal Man said as he struggled to subdue the underweight teenager.   
  
"No," he sobbed defiantly, which may have worked better at being intimidating if there weren't tears welling up in his toxic green eyes. He was still struggling but not as much now. He didn't have enough energy to escape, he realized. He couldn't even turn intangible and be able to run thanks to his weakened state.   
  
The only thing he could do by this point was hope these people wouldn't hurt him too badly. He was probably making everything ten times worse by struggling so he went limp, breathing heavily.   
  
Tony noticed the teen's energy was fading quickly and felt a pang of worry. He shouldn't have automatically moved to force to restrain the teen. A dangerous, radioactive, powerhouse of a teenager albeit, but still one. He readjusted his hold until Danny wasn't in a restraining position and to get a better hold on him.   
  
Danny barely noticed this as his exhaustion was beginning to take hold on his frail body and black spots swam in his vision. He was on the edge of unconsciousness when he was picked up bridal style. That was enough to jolt him into consciousness for a moment, enough to make him aware of the wind on his face. Was he flying? He must have blacked out for a moment because why was he flying?   
  
"-on kid, stay awa-" whatever was being said fell on deaf ears as his hearing faded and his eyes slipped closed and DP23 knew no more.

* * *

This wasn't how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to talk Danny into coming with him to the Tower so that they could help him and the other ghosts. According to all their records many were protective over the hybrid, so he guessed if Danny was at the Tower the other prisoners would follow.   
  
As soon as Danny passed out he saw a ring appear around the boy's small waist and transform him into his human form. Even though Tony had seen the transformation in videos and when he was struggling to escape, it still surprised him.   
  
Danny was wearing a large sweater and sweatpants he obviously got from some dumpster. He supposed it was only slightly better than the hospital gown he left in. The clothes hung off his small frame and provided no warmth against the cold wind.   
  
Tony hugged the teen's small figure closer, to try and protect him from the wind chill. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. The best he could do was get home quick where Danny could get medical attention. Unlike the other ghosts he was still human and this form could likely still get sick.   
  
"JARVIS, what's our arrival time?" He tried to not allow the worry in his voice. This whole mess was his fault. He shouldn't have gone after any of the ghosts, if anything happened to Danny- No, he wouldn't allow that to happen,.   
  
"Around four minutes, sir," the British AI responded. At that moment Danny stirred for the first time, a small moan falling from his mouth, but he stayed unconscious. Which, for once, Tony was glad for. If Danny fought Tony, even in his extremely weak state, he could possibly fall or injure himself further.   
  
The Tower finally came into sight. "Can you get Dr. Banner -"   
  
"Already alerted, sir. He's waiting in medical," the AI said.   
  
"You're too good for me," Tony said, adjusting the child in his arms to not be jostled to bad by the landing. It was late enough most of the Avengers were sound asleep in their own rooms so the silence wasn't broken by any other noises besides his metal boots hitting the concrete landing pad.   
  
From there he took the elevator, Danny still cradled in his arms, hardly stirring when they landed on their floor and the doors wooshed open. The teen was dead- pun not intended, or is it?- to the world.   
  
They stepped out and Bruce greeted him at the elevator, a doctor's coat and gloves on. He paused with wide eyes when he spotted Danny. The man silently motioned for Tony to follow him, his eyes not leaving the teen's prone body.   
  
Tony set him on the table and Bruce moved forwards to examine Danny. The Iron Man armor retreated and folded into its suitcase shape. Tony, with helmet hair and in the wrinkly clothes he'd left in, stood off to the side, watching.   
  
"What did you do to him, Tones?" Bruce asked when Danny gave little response to his prodding.   
  
"Nothing!" Tony defended. "And what makes you think I did it?"   
  
"Why is he so exhausted then? You said he managed to escape from the base and you just fine," The doctor grabbed a hospital gown and motioned for Tony to come forwards.   
  
"What're we doin', doc?"   
  
"I need to get this filthy shirt off of him without jostling any injuries," he explained, grabbing a pair of scissors. Tony nodded and grabbed another pair.   
  
They managed to remove the sweater easy enough, but when Bruce caught sight of the teen's chest he gasped and moved backwards to put distance between them. Tony stayed silent with a hand over his gaping mouth. The only noise that filled the silence was Bruce dropping his scissors.   
  
The teen's chest was covered with horrible surgical scars. The largest scar started from both sides of his clavicle all the way down his torso. The flesh along the line was irritated and swollen, indicating it was fairly recent and this kid had some serious healing factor. There were several more located above major organs, all of them jagged and messily done. There was still a fading bruise on his jawline and Tony felt guilty.   
  
"I'm- I just- have to go real quick," with that Bruce fled the room. Obviously a mixture of emotions and memories tormenting the poor scientist. Tony watched him leave in the direction of the safe rooms. He'd be back soon, Tony thought as he gather some disinfectant to clean what he could until then. He managed to clean a few of the larger wounds, the smaller ones were healing and disappearing before his eyes.   
  
Finally Bruce came back, his face devoid of expression. But Tony knew well enough that his emotions were a storming mess. Bruce carried out a check up. He had a confused and anxious look when he looked at some of his stats but said nothing, and Tony didn't push for once.   
  
Every time he came across something serious his tan skin took on a green tinge. Danny's leg was bad enough Bruce had to leave for a moment. It was a wonder the teen could walk or even run as well as he did.   
  
He brought several IV bags and set them up at the teen's bedside. Bruce easily positioned the needle into the nook of Danny's elbow and he wrapped it to keep it in place. The scientist then declared he'd done everything he could at the time being and promptly left, as he also tried to control his breathing.   
  
The genius just sighed and looked back at Danny, trying to avoid the scars (no one this young should have so many) and instead watched the teen's peaceful face. Careful to watch for any signs of distress. He knew nightmares were going to come so he grabbed a chair and sat with his tablet. But he couldn't concentrate on it. A question kept repeating itself inside his mind.   
  
Just what exactly was he getting himself into?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot what was happening when I started writing this again lol

Everything was... Fuzzy. In a blocking your senses sort of way, which DP23's mind felt too heavy to care about at the moment. It was warm, but not hot. And something else... He wasn't in pain. A deep and heavy exhaustion in DP23's bones told him he should never move from this spot.   
  
Where was this spot, he wondered. His cell wasn't very large, at all. And he couldn't really remember this area. He had a nagging worry that if he moved too much the warmth would simply have been a dream and he'd wake up on cold concrete of his cell.   
  
So he tried to fight down his consciousness. But still... He couldn't help but wonder. Eventually his curiosity won out. And he managed to force his heavy eyelids to crack enough to just quickly scanned his surroundings.   
  
Grey walls was the first thing that stood out to him. That... That didn't make sense. They only used white... Right? White paint, white clothes (besides the sickening green ectoplasm that was often splattered across their suits after they walked out of the room...).   
  
He moved his head on the pillow- pillow?- to get a better view but hissed as pain flared up his neck and into the back of his head. His chest felt tight like there was something constricting it. Not healed, just suppressed, he realized as he found the IV needle emptying something into his body.   
  
Drugs to keep him from running maybe. They did that, but only with a few experiments. These were weaker, and only dulling his pain to an extent. Whoever these people were must not know much about his physiology. He could burn them off easily if he needed so he didn't worry about those.   
  
Now that he was awake he was becoming aware of a slow beeping that went in time like a metronome to the throbs that wracked his body. It went along with the thudding in his chest. Heart monitor, he bet. He nudged around for the icy energy that lay in his core.   
  
It exhaustedly swatted back and he breathed a sigh of relief. It was still there; just tired. Though the rest had only been an hour, it seemed to have helped immensely. It didn't make sense though. He could feel his blinks becoming sluggish. He may as well enjoy the calm before the storm. So he let them fall shut... For just a moment, before he heard the doors open and two humans entered.   
  
A chilling stroke of fear went up his spine as he forced himself to lay still with his eyes closed. Keeping his breathing and heart even and calm was more difficult. He felt extremely defenseless.   
  
"How is he Bruce?" The voice of the metal man said.   
  
Oh right, the metal man captured him. That scene flashed in his mind.   
  
The other, 'Bruce', spoke, "He's... Strange."   
  
"He's half ghost. Please, elaborate."   
  
"His bpm has been a steady 30," there was... Concern in the man's voice. "Internal temp was less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit, last I checked."   
  
"Oh. Maybe that's normal for his... Species?" It was meant to be a statement but came out a question.   
  
"The thing is that there are no others of his kind, documented at least. If there are any others they've stayed hidden this long, it's unlikely we'd find them without drawing any dangerous attention to them," Bruce explained setting something on the table besides DP23, it took all his strength not to flinch away.   
  
"Bruce, me and Nick are working around the clock to get every GIW facility across the globe shut down. The only questionable thing is their funding. They aren't government funded as far as the pirate man can tell. There's only a handful of people capable of funding this, and fewer crazy enough to do it."   
  
"We don't know what's normal for him. He needs a real doctor. I'm just... Not cut out for this Tones. Cho would be better."   
  
"I don't think it would be wise to bring a civilian into this. Don't give me that look."   
  
They didn't seem to be paying attention to him, more interested in squabbling. So DP23 took a chance and squinted through his lashes to see the two men. One, Bruce he deducted, was slightly hunched in a self-conscious kind of way. He had a rumpled scientist look that screamed no confidence. Like he second guessed everything he did. And he was was pacing slightly like he couldn't stay still. He looked quite different than most of the other scientists he'd encountered in his lifespan. Neither looked very dangerous on their own, but he didn't want to take any chances.   
  
He nudged his core again, seeing if it would be up to escaping should he need it. Assuming these people had no experience with real ghosts and hadn't coated everything in this place top to bottom with extoranium. It pushed back, stronger this time. He could probably manage holding his ghost form for a couple minutes. Just long enough to get out and call for help.   
  
But he was a patient creature, ghosts often were, and he didn't want to take the risk of flying away yet and getting caught again, surely that would just anger his captors further.   
  
DP23 was worried about Ember and Youngblood, they were full ghosts and a lot stronger than him. He simply hoped they didn't come looking for him.   
  
Suddenly a third voice joined their conversation, it was enough to make him flinch. He could only hear two sets of heartbeats and this voice came from the ceiling.   
  
"Sirs, I believe our guest is awake," it was a british accent... The last person with a british accent had cut out his liver and watched in fascination as it grew back.   
  
Wait... Crap he was made. Seeing no point in faking sleep any longer he opened his eyes, allowing them to flash a glowing green in warning like a venomous snake.   
  
Both men looked shocked for a moment, Bruce even took a quiet step back to give him some space since he'd been closest. Tony didn't budge from his spot. His eyes widened a fraction though.   
  
"Hey kid, calm down," he said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "Do you know where you are, Danny?" The name was added to the end of his sentence as an afterthought. Come to think of it, it's what the man had called him before. Maybe it was his actual name, according to Ember all of them had one.   
  
He silently shook his head stiffly, he was still poised, ready to get out quick.   
  
"Alright, you're at the Avengers Tower in New York. I'm Tony Stark, and this is Bruce. You're safe here, we aren't going to hurt you. In fact we were helping you, see?"   
  
"Stark?" DP23- or Danny, asked quietly. The name struck a chord in his memory. Stark was who Ember and Youngblood were talking about. Danny's eyes widened at that realization.   
  
"Yeah... Do you know me?" Danny nodded again.   
  
"We need help," Danny couldn't speak loudly, but he allowed a bit of his ethereal essence into his voice to make it carry. Both men were obviously freaked out about it and were watching him warily.   
  
"With what?"   
  
"You need to help me get my people back to their dimension."   
  
"Your people? The ghosts?"   
  
A nod. Talking was tiring, he didn't understand how some people could talk for so long.   
  
"How?" Asked Bruce, he was usually content to simply listening, silent enough you could forget he was there.   
  
"A portal."   
  
"I guessed, but how would you go about making a portal to a ghost dimension?"   
  
"Ghost Zone. And my friends know someone who memorized the blueprints just enough to make it, he and another tried to fill in the blanks but they're not sure."   
  
"Alright, sounds good enough. We can help out, right Brucie?" Tony asked turning to the doctor with puppy eyes. The scientist sighed then looked to Danny who also had a very unpracticed and leery pleading look.   
  
"Fine, but on one condition."   
  
Danny's expression became guarded. "Depends on what it is..."   
  
"You have to stay at the Tower and let me help you," he said. When Danny was about to retort that he was fine Bruce cut him off before he could start. "You're still in pain and I can tell. You're obviously sore and you look like a giant bruise."   
  
Danny blinked, his face flushing. Why was this man concerned about him? Was this some ploy to get rid of the rest of the ghosts so he could experiment on the halfa afterwards?   
  
He closed his eyes and reminded himself again. This was for the others, not him. If he had to go through this... Whatever this was, and they manage to get back to the apparent safety of the Ghost Zone, then it would all be worth it. He was ready to sacrifice himself then, in the GIW facility, after he got the others out. He'd do anything to see the rest of his family safe.   
  
He nodded, Tony shot up while clapping his hands together. "This is getting sappy let's get started!"   
  
Danny gave a short humorless snort. Tony felt his heart tighten, it seemed wrong that someone so young could sound that bitter.   
  
"Tony," Bruce scolded, ignoring the eyeroll he received. "He just woke up. You thirsty, Danny?"   
  
Danny paused. Was he? He supposed it couldn't hurt, so he nodded. Bruce cautiously approached, hoping not to startle Danny too much and picked up the empty glass on the table on the side of his bed. "I meant to refresh this before you woke up." He then backed away and left the room with it.   
  
"You're not dead," Tony mused aloud. He was staring at Danny with a stare the teen saw too often. It was piercing enough he felt the urge to squirm away, but he didn't feel like he was in danger. Common sense told him he could escape anytime he needed.   
  
"No," Danny confirmed, not elaborating.   
  
"So are you alive, but just have some of the powers of the dead?"   
  
"Something like that."   
  
"You have at least two forms," Tony remembered.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"What are you?" Tony finally just asked, then winced, hoping the question wasn't considered rude.   
  
"I'm a halfa," Danny said. "Half ghost, half human. No, I was not born like this."   
  
Tony filed away that information for later but before he could ask anything else Bruce finally came back. He placed the glass on the table and stepped back for Danny to take it.   
  
The teen eyes it warily but takes a sip, and then another. He didn't realize just how thirsty he was.   
  
"I need to let the others know I'm okay," he stated when he finished and placed the empty glass on the table. "Or-" A loud crash from a floor down interrupted him, and he finished meekly. "Or something like that will happen.."   
  
"JARVIS?" Tony asked, he was clenching and unclenching his fists. He was clearly moments away from calling his armor.   
  
"Sir, I believe there are a few intruders on the Avengers floor and they are being confronted by Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff, and Mr. Barton. I suggest you hurry, sir."   
  
In the time-span of a second Danny had phased through the wires and the IV connected to his hand. His eyes were closed in concentration and then he dove through the floor. Both Bruce and Tony stood speechless for a moment before their eyes met and they took off for the elevator.

* * *

The sight that greeted them made them both skid to a stop. Tony looked shocked, he was doing that a lot lately. There were two ghosts, a teenage girl with flaming (literally) blue hair who looked like some kind of edgy pop star, she was having a stare off with three members of the Avengers.   
  
And then there was Danny. The teen's eyes were glowing a bright green but he hadn't allowed himself to fully transform, at least not yet. He was only letting his powers bleed through to his human form to make sure they lasted longer.   
  
The two ghosts looked ready to fight despite their ragged appearances. Danny had moved into an uneasy defensive position. His eyes were darting from the rocker, to a place on the floor, to the Avengers who were dressed in pajamas but looking none the less deadly.   
  
When Tony and Bruce entered his eyes went wide and flashed to a human baby-blue. His stance faltered enough that Natasha noticed, and she lunged to attack the intruder. This seemed to be the 'go' for the others as well as everything seemed to immediately go to hell. And it quickly turned into an all-out brawl.   
  
"STOP!"   
  
Everyone froze mid-fight or punch. Danny had a handful of Natasha's hair (playing dirty). The rocker ghost was one second away from slugging Steve, who was trying to separate Danny and Nat. Barton had abandoned his bow and arrow (probably because they didn't work, birdbrain) and was about to tackle Danny, he had also been kicking at seemingly empty air. They all stared at Tony before they separated like children caught doing something bad.   
  
"This is our guest, Danny," he ground out the word as he pointed to Danny and glared at Barton. Who in turn at least had the decency to look sheepish. "We don't attack guests," a glance was thrown in Natasha's direction. The redhead looked indifferent about the whole thing and was smoothing her long hair down where Danny's grip had messed it up.   
  
"Wait, then who the fuck are they?" Clint pointed towards the rocker and a spot on the floor.   
  
"Ember," she greeted, not one for playing nice with strangers. "And the other is Youngblood. We call 'Danny' Phantom most often."   
  
Bruce frowned. "But there's no one else there besides you two."   
  
"Youngblood can only be seen by equipment, the young, or those with a juvenile mind," she gave a Cheshire grin towards Barton.   
  
Tony snorted at that. "Okay, now that that's resolved. But why are you here?"   
  
"To get back Dipstick."   
  
"Dipstick?" He questioned her wording. The only explanation was a glare then her eyes flicked to the small teen besides her. Danny. Of course, duh. "Okay, strange nicknames aside, I'm here to help you get back to your dimension. Don't look so surprised, Danny told me about the portals. My name is Tony Stark," he'd seen the relieved reaction his name had gotten from Danny.   
  
It seemed the right thing to do because Ember took a deep breath and let go of some of the tension in her shoulders. Obviously thinking carefully before she cautiously asked, "Think you also have some rooms to spare for the rest of us? I need to see how many of us we can get back together."   
  
"I'm Tony Stark," he said it as if it explained everything. But seeing the confused look he elaborated, "I own the building, of course I do."   
  
She nodded. "Good," Ember said, placing her hands on her hips. "'Cause there's a crap ton more of us."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ovo

**Six months after the explosion**   
  
Blackmail.

That's what this was. Neither of the Agents who sat across from him on the sofa denied it either. Even when he incredulously blew up on them. He'd ripped the papers to shreds in his fury, they had simply stared at him passively, they had the upper-hand and they knew it. The halfa barely managed to stop himself from disintegrating the mortals who dared to demand he fund their vile organization.

He, Vladimir Masters, the first and perhaps  _ only  _ halfa in existence, was being threatened by these minuscule humans. It was almost laughable, except it wasn't. 

The few things keeping Vlad in check was the gun aimed at his head. He almost scoffed in disbelief. Even the Fentons- his heart panged at the thought- would never have done this. It was damn clear and there was no way out of it. Not without these imbeciles exposing his secret and getting the attention of SHIELD, or god forbid HYDRA. He was well aware of both agencies, you didn't live this long as a halfa and not pick up a few things.

He knew who these two were. The GIW, Goons in White as they should be called. One of the most incompetent ghost hunter groups Vlad had the displeasure of meeting. They were a very small sub-branch of HYDRA to begin with, split off from their Paranormal branch. Distant, and fools for messing with him, but they could get HYDRA's attention.

Vlad couldn't afford the stakes that were placed on being revealed. Not yet. But he could afford what the papers in front of him asked. He may not be a billionaire like Stark but he had the money to do it.

Agent R. raised a hand to his companion, Agent B., who had risen from his seat in anger. “We will give you one week to sign the contract. If not, we will be forced to take matters into our own hands.”

He opened the briefcase that lay by his side and slid the extra copy across Vlad's coffee table. The dangerous halfa seethed. Vlad knew he would get his revenge, but it would take patience and time. Time he wouldn't have if he was discovered now.

He took a deep breath and removed the evidence of outward struggles from his expression. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of knowing he was, in fact, distressing and looking for a way out but he couldn’t find any legal loopholes. With a blank face but troubled heart, Vlad signed.

* * *

It was a few days later that Vlad had realized that this went a lot further than just a few destroyed houses and deaths. After he had realized all of the Fentons were dead, he’d stayed away from the news. The headlines on the news stated that cleanup crews were working to clear up the toxic ectoplasm that ended up being spread all over the town. The mysterious spirits that were plaguing the town were either eradicated or captured.

Amity Park was considered uninhabitable until further notice. The place became swarmed with GIW agents and people were forcibly removed from their homes. And the exposure from the ectoplasm had side effects on those who had stayed too long, though no one could tell for sure what the effects it would have on current or future generations. Everyone would simply have to wait and see what was going to happen in the next few decades. But Vlad knew first hand what ectoplasmic radiation could do to a person.   


* * *

  
**Months before present**

Vlad squinted down at the map in his hands. The paths that crisscrossed on its surface in a maze, showing the entirety of the vast Ghost Zone. At first glance it didn't appear as much beyond a complicated map, but the halfa could feel the power radiating from it. He couldn't help but the feeling of giddiness that rose within hkm.

After years of searching the Ghost Zone in hopes of some inkling of a way to find the mysterious master of time, should he actually exist. He finally succeeded in tracking the device down. he halfa finally had it.

It had taken nearly a year of bartering and compromising with the ice creatures to even be allowed in the same room as the item. Much less take advantage of its services.

But he had succeeded. It had been ten long years in the making. The time it took to gather enough blackmail and dirt on the citizens of the Ghost Zone in order to get the information he needed had left him worn and bitter. In the initial ‘agreement’, every six months the GIW came to drain his banks of a couple million then leave with his secrets and reputation untouched. After over the past decade they'd gotten comfortable, taking as much money as they wanted, whenever they pleased.   
  
Vlad was straining against the metaphorical and legal leash that was wrapped around his neck in this situation. The GIW was demanding another payment from him. It was the third one in as many days. He had to move quick. Travel back in time and stop the explosion from ever happening. Afterwards he would destroy the GIW before they could ever use the information they supposedly had. Then… Then Vlad would find the two agents that had always shown up at his door and rip their spines out through their throats. But perhaps he was getting a little bit ahead of himself at this point.

He cleared his throat and held the map out in front of him, making sure to hold onto the edges tightly. Vlad spoke clearly, “Take me to the ghost of time.” And the world around him became a blur.

When Vlad had first discovered that the map existed, he thought it was fake. He’d spent a long time searching for the legendary ghost of time before he heard about the map. Vlad didn’t think it could just be solved as easily as that. But it seemed like it could be. It seemed meant to be as all things were.

Vlad offered the great snowy ghosts that guarded the map anything they could wish for in exchange to use it but they had refused. Until one time Vlad lost control of his emotions and broke down inside the icy castle they finally waned in warding him off. After hearing the halfa’s story and idea, their leader, Frostbite, agreed to let Vlad borrow it, but only for a day. They weren’t afraid to let him know it was a foolish venture, not that Vlad paid them any attention. There was so much at stake, he had little to lose at this point.

He was being dragged through the Ghost Zone so quickly Vlad was only able to make out the landscape around him blur by. He watched as the world started to change, becoming more and more unfamiliar and dark as we went. It felt ancient and powerful, like static in the air that made your mouth dry. Suddenly the map stopped and Vlad was thrown forwards another few feet as everything around him returned to normal and he tried to gain his bearings.

Vlad blinked away the remaining dizziness and froze in shock. He was here. In front of him floated a lair, one of the oldest he'd seen. It appeared to be a castle with rising spires, clocks and cogs decorated the outside walls. Some orbiting around like the lair. It was exactly like it had been described to him by the few lucky souls whom had met the ghost of time. Vlad had never been this far into the Ghost Zone before and he wasn’t entirely sure where ‘here’ was. Without the map he would he hopelessly lost. A bit anxiously, he rolled up the map and tucked it into his pocket.

Vlad wasn't one for being shy so he cautiously floated towards the large castle entrance and raised his hand to knock. Before his clenched fist ever made contact with the door there was a shuddering sound that made Vlad jump back. There was a cascade of dust and the doors slowly opened inwards, beckoning him inside. He couldn’t make anything out so he gathered ectoplasm in his hands and it began to emit a dull pinkish glow like a torch.

With a deep breath he stepped inside, metaphorically, since he was floating. Vlad was a bit surprised at first, with the smell being the first thing he noticed. It didn’t smell like anything, from the outside he’d expect the stench of mold and staleness, like parts of the Ghost Zone had a penchant for developing. Instead there was nothing but the smell of ectoplasm and he could feel the way the air buzzed with power. It made sense the ghost of time would give off such an aura.

As soon as he passed the front entryway, one by one lamps lit themself. Only on one wall though and it wrapped around into a different hall. Like a path, Vlad thought curiously, he decided to follow it. The halfa silently floated, following the beacons, until the sound of ticking reached his ears. Vlad paused and frowned, it sounded like clocks, many of them. All ticking at different speeds, some racing and others lagging. He turned one last hallway and saw the light of a room and in the room stood a tall figure.

The ghost was wearing dark robes and held a long staff with a clock sitting on the end. He didn’t turn but spoke in a loud voice, “Vladimir Masters, my name is Clockwork, the ghost of time. I have awaited our meeting for many years now. Please, come in, have a seat. We have much to discuss.” The ghost of time turned towards the halfa, who was frozen in the doorway, and gestured to the chair Vlad hadn’t noticed before.

Vlad sat down on the chair, it’s appearance rippled at he touched it before morphing into one that looked somewhat familiar. The halfa studied it and realized it looked like it had been taken straight from his dining-room. Shaking his head he went back to examining the room around him. There were many mirrors everywhere, but all of them had different reflections on their surfaces. There were three clocks high on the ceiling, Vlad knew them to be the sound he was hearing in the hall. He noticed something odd, the slowest one was going counter clockwise, the one on the right was ticking twice as fast forwards, the normal one was going at a normal, steady pace. Vlad could make out people in many of the mirrors, doing various things like laughing and crying or even their chores. People’s entire lifetimes in a few minutes, he realized.

Vlad tore his eyes off of the wall as Clockwork softly cleared his throat. He felt bashful for having been caught staring. The ghost of time himself hadn’t look how Vlad had expected, he had the face of a young man, maybe in his late twenties. But then, in front of his eyes, Clockwork began to change, his face become older and chiseled, a long beard stretched down his chest.

“I cannot do what you are hoping,” Clockwork declared, he twisted the staff in his hands.

“Why not?” Vlad demanded immediately.

“There are many rules in place that prevent me from doing whatever I wish. I can’t directly influence the timeline but there are ways for me to speed things along,” Clockwork muttered, more to himself than Vlad.

“What does that even mean?” Vlad was beginning to lose his patience. He had come here for a reason, not to be toyed with.

“It means,” Clockwork continued, “the GIW is destined to fall eventually. Legally and morally, many of the agents will be arrested for torturing sentient beings. Many of the higher ups will earn life. I need your assistance to make that happen quicker.”

  
Vlad grinned menacingly. "I'll do whatever I can. I am in your service, Clockwork."   
  
"Good. You play an important role in Daniel Fenton's fate."   
  
Vlad sputtered and stared at the ghost in front of him in surprise. Daniel Fenton? The little boy he'd seen just a week before the explosion? His godson was alive? A small flair of hope rose within him before quickly being smothered by his own logical mind. That was impossible, all of the Fentons had been  _ inside  _ the house when the explosion happened. All of them had died immediately.

Daniel was dead, but Vlad knew death wasn’t always as clear cut as that. And as much as he'd hoped all of the Fentons had been put to rest in their afterlives, he was never for sure. Did the GIW have him? Was he effectively funding the torture of his deceased love’s child?   
  
Clockwork shifted to his old man form. Reading the silent horror on Vlad's face, and perhaps the distraught halfa had said something unknowingly, Clockwork sighed and turned to the looking mirrors scattered at random places across the walls. "Yes, Daniel was a victim of the explosion, but it wasn’t the end," he spoke softly and carefully chose his words.

Vlad clenched his eyes shut tightly, anger and grief rose within him. The thought of storming the GIW and obliterating every single agent in that horrible facility was beginning to look like a better idea by the minute.

“But it is not too late to change the path your godson is on. We will need him,” the now child said cryptically, watching over the various timelines. Vlad looked up in hope. “And I will require your assistance to set events into motion that won't happen for a long time otherwise.”

“Of course. Anything.” Sorrow and wrath had been hanging over his life for a long time. Now he finally had a chance to take them down at the source.

Clockwork allowed himself a small, grim smile. “I need you to take a letter…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we’re all caught up~
> 
> Feel free to bug me on Tumblr Calm-is-overrated
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter is really awkward. I'm kinda getting back into writing and I'm also moving. If you see any mistakes feel free to point them out. I'll get better at this lol.

Living with a Tower full of ghosts really wasn't the strangest thing to happen to the Avengers. But it definitely was within the top ten.

After hearing that the Tower could be suitable to house all of the ghosts. The three of them had seemed a bit more at ease when he showed them to a floor that was only used for the storage of failed prototypes. Danny would stand from the sidelines watching Tony and the rest of the Avengers with a nervous gaze. He was jumpy and scared around them, that much was clear. Thankfully the others, besides Bruce and Tony, gradually lost interest and disappeared to other parts of the Tower.

"So how are you going to bring them here?" Tony asked as he kicked a box with the side of his shoe. Even he hadn't been up to this floor in months. Probably the most deserted room in the Tower. "You don't plan on tracking them down, do you?"

Ember shook her head, her flaming ponytail bouncing with the movement. "That would take way too long. There are- or were- hundreds of us. I'll try to send out a message. I'll need pipsqueak's help though," she said. "I'm not strong enough to do it myself right now."

Danny nodded and stepped forwards to take Embers hand. Tony and the other Avengers watched, in various states of amazement, as both of them closed their eyes and a green, glowing sphere appeared above their heads. It was doubling in size by the second before blowing outwards, passing through all the humans and stretching across the city.

Both the halfa and rocker ghost looked exhausted, like they'd just run a 5k in the middle of summer. "It won't be long," Ember advised, brushing herself off. "You good?" She asked Danny and he nodded, her protective side was beginning to show. Then they got ready to play chaperone to the dead.

The day it was spent attempting to gather all of the ghosts into the Tower. Which was extremely difficult and took a lot of coordination between the Avengers, Danny, Ember and all the other ghosts. Especially since the ghosts were hesitant to trust any humans like Tony and his teammates. So for the most part Danny and Ember handled that part while the Avengers stayed in the background.

By the time the sun was beginning to set Tony had cleared an entire floor just for the Avenger's guests to stay in- ignoring any protest he heard from some of his more suspicious teammates. Most of the ghosts had been located, according to Ember. A few were still considered missing or worse. Because apparently there was a worse for ghosts, it reminded Tony of the ghost SHIELD agent on that video.

Tony was starting to see the effects of the stressful day weighing on everyone. Especially Danny, the halfa was still very injured, though he was healing at a slightly quicker rate than a human. He'd been in his ghost form all day, but that didn't seem to be doing much for him. Unlike the other ghosts. The halfa winced everytime he moved and his shoulders had been slouched in pain all day. Tony could see how weary Danny was getting as they finished the search for the night.

"Danny," Tony called from across the room. The boy was still talking to a few of the other ghosts but he didn't seem to notice him calling. Then he remembered the kid probably didn't respond to his real name. What was the name Ember had called him? Ghost? No it wasn't that... "Phantom!"

Danny turned to him with big unnaturally green eyes, there was a moment before the teen's mask of indifference fell into place that Tony could see the fear etched onto his young features. It was made worse by the bruises- dark, painful looking blotches of green in this form- that framed his face. The ghosts he had been talking with startled and faded out of sight.

"It's okay, kid," Tony said, hands held in a placating manner. "I just came over to say it's starting to get late and we'll be busy building this thing tomorrow. You should probably get some food and rest."

"Okay," Danny said quietly, his voice was very soft and had a strange supernatural undertone to it that made Tony's hair stand on end despite himself. Danny winced and made a move to hold his throat with a shaking hand before averting the gesture but he still looked pained. Tony wondered what the GIW had done to make his voice sound like that. It was like his vocal cords had been stuffed into a blender set to puree and reattached. When Danny used his powers it was more like he was speaking from deep inside a cave but without them it was obviously painful and raspy.

"You can sleep in the infirmary, at least until we get a room for you. Plus, it gives us a chance to check on your injuries," Tony said. He hadn't had a chance to stop Danny in order to change his bandages.

"Can't I stay with the others?" Danny asked quietly, he shuffled unsurely.

"Don't you want a bed, Danny? That floor is just empty besides storage." Danny looked conflicted for a moment. He'd never really slept in a bed, and if he had it had been before he really had any memory of it. When he'd woken up, the bed in the infirmary had been very comfortable. But then immediately afterwards he'd had to deal with Ember and Youngblood storming in to try and save him. The issue was Danny didn't want to leave the other ghosts.

"Phantom." Both of them turned to see Ember floating a few inches off the ground and moving towards them. Despite how haggard she looked it seemed she was doing loads better in the time she'd been there. Even her clothes had begun to mend itself. In fact all of the ghosts seemed to be improving by the minute.

"Go with Tony." Danny opened his mouth to say something but the rocker ghost cut him off. "Don't you argue with me, Dipstick. You need an actual bed and food. You'll probably pass out the minute you turn human," she joked, but there was concern in her expression. The ghosts were tired but they didn't need the type rest Danny did since he was still half human.

"But-" Danny kept glancing at the inventor through the side of his eye, his distrust still obvious. Tony didn't blame him and hoped keeping his space would at least help Danny stay comfortable while he's there.

"Trust me, kid. I'll just show you where you're staying and bring you some food. I won't let anything happen to you," Tony said. He wasn't great at this comforting thing, especially dealing with kids- definitely not traumatized half human children- but that sounded like the right thing to say.

And it was. Danny looked warily between them both and sighed, the teen nodded and turned to Tony expectantly.

The genius cleared his throat. "Alright follow me, kid." Deep down Tony had been hoping Danny would accept his offer because the kid looked one strong gust away from being knocked over and he deserved to sleep on an actual bed. Luckily the Avengers- but mostly Tony himself- ended up in the infirmary often enough there were actual mattresses there.

The infirmary was set directly below the floor Tony had given to the ghosts. With a quick elevator ride they arrived. Thankfully, or worryingly, Danny seemed to be too exhausted to have any issues with the elevator. Tony knew some of the ghosts had glanced warily at it as the Avengers came and went through it.

Tony had brought Danny back to the bed he'd been in earlier that day. "Here we are. You can lay down and I'll have someone bring you some dinner."

Danny recognized the room he was in and decided the metal man- that Tony was telling the truth. The halfa took a deep breath and felt a tug in his gut as he pulled his ghost powers back into himself. Bright rings of light appeared around his waist, splitting and traveling up and down his body leaving him looking like a normal teenager.

Then Tony noted Danny had paled several shades, he was blinking rapidly and wavering on his feet. It was enough to set off the alarm bells in the inventor's head. Tony reached for the barely conscious teen. It was a show of how out of it Danny was that he didn't even flinch away from the man's touch. Though Tony nearly recoiled at how cold his skin was, it was like dipping your hand in a bucket of ice water.

"Okay kid, don't faint on me yet," Tony said, patting Danny's cheek to try and rouse him. The only thing Tony got was the kid trying to squirm away. Giving up on that for now, Tony worked on dragging Danny the last couple of feet left to the hospital bed. Tony stumbled when Danny sagged further in his hold, making it difficult to get the teen onto the infirmary cot. Tony managed to pick up the teen, it shocked Tony with how light Danny was, and got him onto the bed.

Danny groaned, which meant he was still conscious, which made Tony sigh in relief. The halfa took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered open, looking around in confusion. "You okay, kid?" Tony asked before mentally kicking himself. Of course Danny wasn't okay. He'd nearly just fainted. Tony should've stopped him earlier.

Danny nodded carefully, the dizziness had faded, but he was still pale and shaky. Thankfully not on the verge of passing out anymore. "Food?" He asked quietly to not hurt his throat.

Tony chuckled. If the kid could ask for food that meant he'd be alright. "It'll be here soon." As if on cue JARVIS spoke up.

"Boss, Mr. Banner is here with the food you requested," his volume was lowered which made Tony raise an eyebrow. Usually he had to do that manually and that was only if his technology felt like behaving. It seemed even Tony's artificial intelligence knew better than to frighten the kid.

Danny, on the other hand, was looking up at the ceiling in the general direction of where the speakers were installed. What caught Tony off guard was the expression of curiosity on the young halfa's face. He'd seen it on many of the kids when he used to do tours around the tower.

Tony realized he hadn't responded yet and mentally waved away the thoughts. "Yeah, let him in before Danny gets any skinnier." The doors whooshed open and stepped Bruce, looking like he'd been run through the ringer. Which he had, emotionally. The scientist had disappeared several times that day, leaving to take breathers and to keep himself from hulking out when he'd seen some of the conditions the other ghosts were in. When he did vanish suddenly Tony knew he would find Bruce hiding away in the lab. He had tried to not bother him too much.

"How're you feeling Danny," Bruce asked kindly. He had a tray of food he'd probably found in the Avenger's kitchen- not even Tony could do much for hospital food.

Danny squeaked and nodded, eyeing Bruce cautiously. The man raised an eyebrow at the teen and shot a look at Tony who nodded, the kid had acted this all day. They both knew Danny would act like this, his contact with humans that wouldn't hurt him was practically non-existent.

"Well, I brought you some food. Wasn't sure what all you might want or how much. Just eat what you can," Bruce rambled as he placed the tray of food on the side table.

Tony wasn't surprised to see a couple of the Avengers seemed to have put their own touch into making it. With the healthier items Tony guessed that Bruce and Steve may have had a hand in those. The more junk food choices were things he'd seen Clint snack on before.

"Do you need my help with his injuries?" Bruce asked Tony. Danny quietly investigated the foods he was being offered, paying the other two men no attention. Or so it would seem to any untrained eye.

"I've got it covered, but thanks Brucie," Tony said, waving as the other man nodded and took his leave. Danny was picking at the vegetables on his plate with curiosity. It occured to the inventor the kid had probably never seen normal food like this. He doubted the GIW really cared about the food pyramid. Tony decided he would make sure as long as Danny was around he would make sure the kid ate right.

Tony shook away the thoughts. He's never really dealt with kids, at least not like this. He doubted many people had. Danny was half dead for someone's sake. At the moment he had more pressing things to deal with, like making sure Danny's injuries were still improving.

"Can I check your injuries, kid?" Tony asked.

Danny looked hesitant but nodded slowly, watching Tony with an expression the genius had a hard time deciphering.

Tony kept his movements slow and steady, the teen was as tense as a stone wall. Like Tony had predicted the halfa's bruised torso was already beginning to heal. The teenager's breathing also sounded less labored. It was a rather miraculous recovery. Tony wondered if Steve could even heal this fast with so many injuries.

"You're looking a lot better, Danny. I think you'll be fully recovered in a couple weeks even."

The kid didn't seem in the least bit surprised. It sickened Tony to realize these injuries were like a papercut compared to what he had been through. Tony turned to get back to his own room and give Danny some space. Before he could, a small, croaky voice spoke up.

"Wait," Danny said quietly and seemed to wilt when Tony turned around. He picked at the food in his lap nervously

"What is it, Danny?" Tony asked.

Danny flinched at his real name, it was unfamiliar but at the same time it wasn't. "Would you stay? Just until I'm done eating" Danny had practically folded in on himself and Tony was worried if he kept going he'd wink out of existence.

"Yeah, sure kid." He took a seat next to Danny's bed, it was where he'd sat yesterday night, waiting for the kid to wake up. To make sure he hadn't unintentionally injured himself.

After a few minutes of playing with his food Danny seemed assured it was good enough to eat and he inhaled everything on his plate. The kid was a bottomless pit and Tony made a note to himself to start bringing him food more often.

* * *

Over the next two weeks things began to settle down as much as they could. It seemed that, true to Ember and Danny's word, the rest of the ghosts stayed out of trouble and mostly haunted the floor of the Tower Tony given to them. And if Tony was being honest, they were some of the best guests he'd had in a while.

With new ghosts were coming in daily and Tony found himself shocked with the states of some of them. A few of the worst cases had been reduced down to little orbs of light. Ember said it would take a long time, maybe even years, but they would eventually heal their forms and look more like herself. Others were barely held together, barely looking only a couple experiments from joining the orbs. But most of them were like Ember, she was about as normal as she could get without being able to absorb ectoplasm.

There were very few ghosts that actually interacted with the Tower's occupants. Those were, of course, Danny, Ember- who never strayed far from the younger halfa, and Technus, whom Tony met a week after knowing Danny. He was the one that would be able to rebuild the ghost portal.

They immediately got to work on the portal. Technus has memorized almost the entire blueprint for the portal and Tony hoped he would be able to fill in the blanks.

Through all of the chaos Tony made sure Danny never got too far away from himself as well. He may have been part ghost but a lot of the kid was still human. An extremely young, vulnerable, and scared human.

And despite how much as the magazines liked to say otherwise, Tony Stark does have a heart. And it especially went out towards traumatized little kids. He didn't know all of what the GIW had done to Danny because he didn't have the stomach to go through the kid's files.

Clint and Natasha had both looked a mixture between shaken and furious afterwards. That almost surprised Tony as much as the fact she treated Danny kinder than he ever thought the assassin could be. In fact many of the members of the tower had taken to the kid quickly.

All of them treated the halfa kindly. Clint and Steve would offer him food whenever they saw him going between the ghost floor and the labs where Technus was working. But one gave the teen more junk food than the other one did, take a wild guess on which.

Tony feared when they finished building the Ghost Portal and time did come for all the ghosts to go back, Danny was going to find himself getting kidnapped.

They were finally making progress with creating the blueprint for the portal, but it was still slow going. Technus as it turned out didn't have the entire blue print memorized.

"I only managed to catch a glimpse of it before the portal exploded," Technus explained through gritted teeth. "Even my superior memory can't do everything." He grumbled something under his breath as he started to fill in the blanks on a design that hadn't been used in over a decade. Tony had a feeling he'd managed to ruffle the technology ghost's metaphorical feathers. Not surprising since his teammates repeatedly reminded him that he's the most annoying Avenger.

It was very late, or early depending on how you looked at it, and Tony, Technus and Bruce had been working on the design most of the night. Bruce hadn't been much help, machines like this weren't his forte but he had tried anyways. Then Tony and Technus' tech speech bored him to sleep at his table and Bruce hadn't moved an inch in the past two hours besides the rise and fall of his chest.

"How long do you think this portal will take to construct?" Tony asked. It was complicated. He had to give the Fentons credit where it was due, they were impressive inventors. He had managed to recover a few of their intact weapon designs from the GIW, and they were all extremely ineffective on humans and only worked on ghosts. But no worries. He made a note for one of his future designs. Maybe he could modify it.

"No telling," Technus buzzed. He seemed to have forgotten entirely about their earlier conflict. "Anywhere from four to six months would be an appropriate timeframe. Given the intellectual steam and resources backing it.

"So what you're saying," Tony paused, hoping he was right, "is that we could get this up and functioning in four months?"

"If everything goes correctly that is approximately the time the assembly will take. Gathering the materials may be more the difficult and time consuming part," Technus said, that odd metallic tone echoed throughout the lab.

"I'm Tony Stark," he said as an explanation, "I can get everything we need for it."

"Some of the radioactive isotopes available are owned by private collectors. Including one you may know, Vladmir Masters."

"I've only met the guy once. And that was ten years ago," Tony stated. "Right before the explosion of Amity Park I think."

"Yes, well he possesses what we need. His business has been falling on hard times recently, perhaps if you offer to buy, he will take that."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then we will have to look elsewhere," there was a hint of fear in the ghost's voice.

"Why does a man like him need it?" Tony asked. Something just didn't seem right.

Technus contemplated for a moment. "It is difficult to explain but I will try. Masters is something called a halfa."

"Like Danny?"

"Correct. If Danny told you what he is, I'm guessing you know what that entails. The reason he has the materials is that he's been trying to build another ghost portal. That was years ago, I'm unsure if he has been successful."

Tony dragged a hand through his own hair, making it more messy and bedhead-ish than before. "Is there anywhere else? And if he has access to the Ghost Zone does that make him a threat."

Technus shook his head, Tony could see sparks firing through the ghost's translucent body. "There's no way to know for sure, Tony Stark. I'm sure I could find some. But it could take many more months."

The genius nodded in understanding. "Try doing that. Messing with Vlad should be a last resort, especially if he has powers like Danny's." Tony only knew a fraction of the teen's abilities. And even though Danny was weakened and looked like a prisoner of war he was powerful. Not a good person to make an enemy out of.

Tony would be lying if he said he hadn't heard about the apparent halfa and his rather crooked business tactics that allowed him to rise to the top. He may have only met him once but he'd heard a lot through the crowds he found himself in.

Learning that Vlad had powers similar to Danny's just made everything make sense. Vladmir Masters was a name that had risen to fame and wealth almost overnight. He was a very tactful person and knew how to turn a conversation to his favor. The type of guy whose favorite game was probably chess.

"Indeed," Technus agreed, a million watt smile was on his face. The technology ghost let his hand run along a few of the blueprints laying out, seeming to take in every component of what they were making.

Since the idea of ghosts had become less jarring Tony had taken it upon himself to learn about them. From what he had learned from Ember that there were two types of ghosts. Simple spirits and full fledged ghosts, which was what they were. To be an actual ghost, they had to have an obsession, and that was what powered them, allowed them to exist and interact with the world.

Tony knew some of the ghost's powers, his obsession was technology and electricity and therefore his abilities revolved around those. He seemed excited to be back around technology he could control. It made him wonder if halfa's like Danny or Masters had an obsession and if so, what was it?

Tony snapped himself out of his thoughts. He hadn't slept more than a few hours this past week and it was starting to weigh on him. "I'll be keeping an eye out on these parts," Tony said, barely stopping himself from yawning.

"I can help with that," Technus said in a way that meant he would be doing it. He'd likely have an easier time finding exactly what they were looking for. "There is nothing more that can be done tonight, Tony Stark."

Tony blinked. He was getting dismissed from his own lab. Knowing it would do very little good to argue the man sighed and made his way to the elevator, watching it slide shut through drowsy eyes. He really must be more tired than he thought.

"Sir," JARVIS spoke. "Miss Pepper Potts is inquiring on your whereabouts."

That woke Tony up immediately. He hadn't explained to Pepper about any of what's been happening in the past two weeks. "Where is she?"

"Still in Japan sir, she has been calling for the past hour."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked. He knew he was in for an angry Pepper.

"You turned the volume off in the labs three hours ago."

Tony rolled his eyes and stepped out onto his floor. He talked as he walked to his bedroom. "New protocol, whenever Pepper is calling, always alert me. Speaking of which, put her on the line."

"As you say sir."

Tony listened to the dial ring and stepped into his room right as Pepper picked up. "Hey Pep-"

"Don't 'Hey Pepper me'," came his beloved's annoyed voice, "why aren't you answering any of my calls? Did you blow up the Tower again?"

"Er, no. And your confidence in me is astounding, Pepper. And you probably would've seen it on the news before now. I've just been… Busy." He sat down at the edge of his bed. He wondered the best way to explain the current status of the Tower.

"'Busy,'" she repeated, waiting for him to explain further.

"Yes… Do you believe in ghosts, Pepper?" Tony asked to the ceiling.

"What?" She sounded confused. "Anything's possible, I guess. We've seen aliens, so why wouldn't ghosts be possible too."

"Well, they exist."

There was silence, so Tony continued. "One day ago, we- the Avengers- stormed a HYDRA knockoff facility called the GIW. They specialized in ghosts, it's some of the worst stuff I've seen. And now we're helping make a portal to help them get back to their dimension. Are you still there Pepper?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this. Ghosts exist and they're from a different dimension? Wait, please tell me you aren't keeping a bunch of ghosts in the Tower."

Tony stayed quiet. "Oh my god. The Tower is haunted."

"Where else was I gonna put them?" Tony asked.

"Anywhere else. Couldn't SHIELD have handled this? Given them somewhere to go, instead of the Tower of all places."

"SHIELD doesn't actually know about this. As far as they're aware all the ghosts have escaped and aren't traceable."

Even over the phone he could tell she was shaking her head lightly. "Oh Tony… What am I going to do with you."

"The portal should be done in a few months," Tony said. "I doubt any of them will be making any trips to this world anytime soon." He stopped himself from yawning.

Pepper sighed. "As long as this is over before my trip back from Japan. I forgot it was four in the morning there, go to bed, Tony."

Tony smiled at the fondness in her voice. "I will."

"Oh, and you better answer my calls next time." And then Pepper hung up with a beep. Tony let himself yawn and was barely able to shrug off shoes before collapsing into bed.

Despite the stress of the night, Tony was out like a light the second his head hit the pillow. His dreams were strange that night. He watched as a toddler about three, with a shock of black hair and familiar blue eyes pressed a big red button from inside a large machine. One that even in his subconscious Tony remembered; the original ghost portal.


End file.
